Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Jin Zizhong was excited when he returned to the Kings' Hall with the minutes of the talks.

Because he never imagined that the conditions offered by the Ming Dynasty were so suitable for North Korea.

There were almost no clauses that North Korea did not comply with. Even if there were controversial points, Ming was willing to discuss them.

This made him fully feel the broad-mindedness of the superior country and he was determined to promote this matter.

Li Wang was also very excited when he saw these conditions. He happily said to his loyal subjects:
"If the Ming Dynasty can accept Korea's submission, you and I will have nothing to worry about!"

"From now on, North Korea is no longer a so-called small China, but a member of China."

Those who were loyal to him naturally agreed, and even proposed to Li Wang that a copy of the minutes of the talks be sent to their families. Let the two classes of dignitaries in the country push for North Korea to submit to the country.

They had already been provoked by the feudal system promoted by Hong Chengchou, and now the Ming Dynasty was going to establish a parliament of nobles to protect the rights and interests of the nobles.

These people suddenly realized that becoming a noble of the Ming Dynasty was a guarantee of eternal wealth and honor. They would go from being subjects to true feudal lords.

Li Wang listened to their suggestions and knew that these people had their own little thoughts.

If he were the king, he certainly wouldn't tolerate it.

But he is the crown prince now, and the most important thing is to protect his inheritance rights.

Even though he knew that the king's power would be limited after Joseon's annexation, he was willing to push for this.

Therefore, he did not prohibit these people from copying the minutes of the meeting, and even hinted to Jin Zizhong to reach certain terms with the Lifanyuan of the Ming Dynasty first to put pressure on the king.

He also nodded in agreement with Jin Zizhong's suggestion to participate more in Ming Dynasty activities and win the favor of the people. He took the Crown Princess and others to participate in the selection of dishes for the state banquet held by Guanglu Temple.

Although this event was officially organized by the Ming Dynasty, it was actually a folk event.

Because the state banquets of the Ming Dynasty were not luxurious. Usually, there were only fruits, tea snacks, fried cakes, steamed buns, etc., and the dishes were only roasted chicken and double rib bones. It can be said to be very simple.

In order to save trouble and to allow officials who participated in the sacrifices in winter to have hot meals, the officials of Guanglu Temple developed a tea soup that could be brewed with boiling water.

This kind of tea soup was quite popular at first, and many officials thought it was better than the cold rice. But later it became less and less popular, and was criticized by many officials as not living up to its name.

Even Zhu Youjian had heard of the reputation of Guanglu Temple Chatang, and launched a large-scale purge of Guanglu Temple officials last year.

After more than a year of rectification, Fan Jingwen and Zhang Tianlin made the tea soup of Guanglu Temple taste good again, but the officials were still not satisfied.

Because they had eaten better food in the palace.

That was the buffet invented by the emperor at the Qionghua Banquet last year.

They believe that this kind of dish, which is kept warm by hot water and can be served according to one's own preference, is much better than tea.

It’s just that the types of dishes need to be adjusted to enrich the offerings.

When Zhu Youjian heard these calls, he ordered the officials of the Guanglu Temple to hold a selection of dishes for the state banquet after the autumn harvest this year.

His goal is not only to select better dishes, but also to promote new crops.

At this grand event, Li Wang tasted new dishes such as hot and sour shredded potatoes, shredded potatoes with vinegar, candied potatoes, and three fresh vegetables, which were invented by the chefs of the Royal Hotel under the guidance of the emperor.

Potatoes, a new crop, began to be served as a dish in front of the people of the capital. These dishes were undoubtedly included in the state banquet as new dishes.

Naturally, they also became popular among the people, and people began to grow potatoes so that they could cook.

There are also some chefs who are good at cooking traditional food and were invited to work as chefs in the Royal Hotel.

The Shangshenjian and Guanglu Temple have already begun to formulate chef grades and food hygiene standards.

It was under such circumstances that chili pepper was determined to be non-toxic and harmless and became a vegetable and condiment allowed for consumption.

Many chefs are working on inventing spicy dishes.

The people in the capital city also enjoyed a great feast as they could eat new dishes every day.

Especially the invited officials can taste many new dishes for free.

The reputation of Guanglu Temple was thus changed and it was praised by many officials. Fan Jingwen's reputation spread throughout the court and the country.

However, the most praised work was the re-creation of ritual music presided over by Liu Zongzhou.

After the Lifanyuan reported Korea's intention to annex the country to the court, the officials in the court immediately took a new look at this new government office.

Since the establishment of the Lifanyuan, first Ryukyu surrendered, then Japan paid tribute. Now Korea also wants to surrender, so they can't help but praise it.

After discussing the matter in depth, they discovered that the reason why Korea wanted to submit was that the Korean crown prince wanted to use the "Ming Dynasty Succession Ceremony" to consolidate his inheritance rights.

This immediately made the officials of the Ministry of Rites very excited, and they attributed the reason for Korea's submission to the reformulation of rituals and music presided over by Liu Zongzhou.

If the "Ming Succession Ceremony" was not formulated under the name of re-establishing rituals and music, why did the Crown Prince of Joseon want to submit to the Ming Dynasty?

Today, North Korea’s request for submission demonstrates the success of this ritual law. Even foreign countries want to abide by the rituals and music of the Ming Dynasty.

Minister of Rites Cheng Jiming said at the court meeting:
"As a foreign nation, Korea still wants to abide by the Ming Dynasty Succession Etiquette."

"I think this law should be enacted as soon as possible so that officials and citizens have something to follow."

Li Biao, Liu Zongzhou, Qian Qianyi and other assistant ministers of the Ministry of Rites also made the same request, hoping that the emperor would finalize the "Ming Dynasty Succession Rites" as soon as possible.

Zhu Youjian was also very pleased with Korea's initiative to request submission, because the terms of internal and external vassalage that he discussed with the Lifanyuan were based on Korea as a model.

He originally planned to arrange Kong Zhenyun and others to implement these conditions little by little in North Korea, based on the current situation in North Korea.

That is why Jin Zizhong and others felt that Korea met the conditions for the Six Unifications extremely well and that it could become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty without much change.

It can be said that whether they did it or not, the Ming Dynasty was pushing for Korea to annex the country. However, their actions pushed the matter forward a big step, and put the secret actions of the Ming Dynasty court on the table for discussion.

The root of this is the so-called "Ming Dynasty Inheritance Rites and Laws", which is also the first law that Zhu Youjian clearly stated that he would abide by since the re-establishment of rites and music.

This achievement fully demonstrates that the "Ming Dynasty Succession Etiquette" is in line with the current era. The civilization of the Ming Dynasty is also sublimating, and it has regained its centripetal force towards the surrounding areas.

The next step is naturally to expand this advantage, so that the civilization of the Ming Dynasty can rise to new heights, and the surrounding countries will be proud to be the subjects of the Ming Dynasty and take the initiative to become its vassal states.

Zhu Youjian, feeling excited, decided to discuss the draft of "Ming Dynasty Succession Ritual Law" with his ministers as soon as possible, so that they could see his attitude and support the reformation of ritual music. (End of this chapter)